The following conversation occurred in our kitchen last night as A. prepped something on a cutting board . . .
Cubby: Daddy, what are those?
A.: They're called Rocky Mountain oysters.
A moment of silence as Cubby considers this . . .
Cubby: Were they swimming around in the lake?
A.: No. They're not real oysters. They're part of the lambs we butchered.
Cubby: Can I touch one?
A.: Sure.
Cubby: I like the way they feel!
And me? I kept my mouth shut and just turned red from suppressed laughter.
Obviously, A. decided to try cooking the testicles from the two male lambs he slaughtered on Sunday. None of us had ever had this particular delicacy before. A Rocky Mountain oyster is a preparation in which the testicles are trimmed up and deep fried.
I know. The thought is a little repellent. I bet no one will be surprised, however, to learn that my children LOVED them. They ate almost all of them by themselves. A. ate a couple of pieces. I ate one small piece just to try it. It wasn't bad. It didn't have much flavor at all--other than the grease flavor all fried foods have--and the texture firmed up enough while cooking that they weren't as spongy as I'd feared. I'm not a fan of oysters, but A. said they were at least as good as real oysters.
The little veins in them, however, were totally unappealing. Should you ever wish to try one, I would recommend eating them whole and not cutting them up.
I, in the meantime, very much enjoyed my pork chops and sauerkraut. I'll leave the testicles to the men of the house*.
* Is it just me, or does the idea of males eating testicles seem sort of . . . traitorous? Though what would I know? I'm just a girl.
9 comments:
Working and not yet married in Texas. Taken to a restaurant and told to try the Rocky Mountain Oysters. Coming from N.O. thought that was a good idea. Ha, ha. Actually, the ones I had were really good without any visual hint as to what they actually were. However, I haven't intentionally ordered them since, and that's been, oh, forty years. Guess restaurants add more seasoning and coating to mask the product.
And, one would ask, "Why?"
LOL.
The way I figure it, meat is meat. When you're eating part of an animal, it's all protein and a bit of fat. The innards, the testicles, the muscle. It's all food.
Still, really funny. When they're teenagers it'll be interesting to see if they freak out about eating testicles or if it's just part of their life.
And, we would reply, "Why not?"
males eating testicles is only traitorous if you consider testicles to be some special magical body part, better than the others.
meh.
there have been times you just ate them because you didn't waste good protein.
no sense throwing them away if you have 'em and they taste ok.
Okay.
I've never tried them.
But I think I would be just like you - try them to say I tried them (b/c we should never bad talk something we haven't tried.) but maybe not take a second bite.
I have a hard time eating the ancillary parts of the animals - nuts, livers, gizzards from chickens. And it's ALWAYS a texture thing. Closely followed by a taste thing.
But I like how you guys operate. Don't waste the protein and let them littles decide for themselves if they like it!
Awesome! My kids are always game to eat the weird bits of the animals. My son is a huge fan of chicken feet, for example. I think it's us grownups that have a hard time overcoming our protein prejudices.
I've eaten them several times, but the texture is a little odd to truly enjoy them (despite Cubby's comment).
The main animal part I refuse to eat is the body's toxic waste dump (ie the liver). I had to fish a piece of it out of my otherwise yummy Vietamese soup the other day....
-moi
Lamb fries. Yum!
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